This invention relates to wood preservation.
It is disclosed in EP 555186 that certain triazole fungicides can be used to combat wood damaging fungi.
We have now found that fluquinconazole, whose chemical structure is quite different from the compounds disclosed in EP 555186, is very effective in controlling wood damaging fungi and particularly basidiomycete fungi, which cause rot, as well as sapstain fungi which spoil the appearance of the wood.
Fluquinconazole is a known fungicide and is the common name for 3-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-6-fluoro-2-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-4(3H)-quinazolinone).
The invention thus provides the use of fluquinconazole for combating wood damaging fungi, in particular basidiomycete wood rotting fungi.
Examples of fungi that can be controlled using fluquinconazole include Coriolus versicolor, Poria placenta, Lentinus lepideus, Trametes versicolor, Serpula lacrymans, Coniophora puteana and Gloeophyllum trabeum. 
In general the wood rotting fungi appear as a complex of two or more of these species.
We have also found that the fluquinconazole is particularly effective when used in combination with other fungicides, such as tebuconazole and/or dichlone, and the invention includes a mixture of fluquinconazole with tebuconazole and/or dichlone. Other possible mixture partners include carbendazim, prochloraz, sipconazole and cyproconazole.
The fluquinconazole is applied in the form of a suspension concentrate, usually containing surfactants and other conventional additives and usually after dilution with water. If desired the fluquinconazole can also be used in combination with a phosphonate compound as described in our WO 98/00021. The concentration of the fluquinconazole may vary over a wide range, e.g. from 0.001 to 10%, preferably from 0.1 to 1%, by weight. The ratio of phosphonate to fluquinconazole can vary over a wide range but is preferably from 5:1 to 1:1.